m m iiiiyfiiAi '^m^^^^ AMONG THE SELKIRK GLACIERS " Tlie swelling slopes of forest, the Line ice of the glaciers, and the tlaik purple precipices of Mount Bonney." AMONG THE SELKIRK GLACIERS THE ACCOUNT OF A ROUGH SURVEY IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGIONS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA WILLIAM SPOTSWOOD GREEN, M.A., F.K.G.S., A.C. ALTHOR OF 'THE HRiH ALPS OF XEW ZEALAND MACMILLAN AND CO. AND NEW YORK 1890 The rjght of Translation and IU;irodtiction is Reseritd Richard Clay axd Sons, Limited LOSEON AKD BUSGAY. 5 DeDicate tbis JBook MY MOTHER. PHEEACE. The Paper I read last winter before the Royal Geographical Society on our explorations in the Sel- kirks being necessarily limited as to detail, I thought it might prove interesting to some to have a fuller account. I have therefore in the following pages at- tempted, while describing our wanderings and scram- bles, to give as complete a picture as possible of the most striking phenomena of the region we visited. Our map, now reproduced, was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society for March, 1889, and it has been to me no small gratification to receive letters from travellers in Canada, the United States, and at home, men not previously known to me, saying that they found it useful, and that it helped them to enjoy the scenery of the Selkirks during the past summer. Though all the time at our disposal was devoted to rendering our map as accurate as possible, more careful surveys will find many corrections necessary in detail. X PEEFACE. With regard to the comparatively small area sur- veyed, I can only plead limited time, and the difficult nature of the country. Without desiring to make over-much of these difficulties, I think I may, in fair- ness to ourselves, quote the words of one whose long years of exploration in the Selkirk region, and whose experience in other lands, give him a right to speak with some authority. Mr. Baillie-Groman, in his article in the Field of May 11th, 1889, entitled, " Seven Years Path-finding in the Selkirks of Kootenay," says, " The least said about 'paths in these amazingly inaccessible upland mountain wilds the better, for I doubt whether any other known mountain system of the same not very excessive altitude offers, on the one hand so many attractions, and on the other hand, so many difficulties to impede their exploration as do the Selkirks ; but that is to the genuine explorer only an additional charm." Again, commentinsr on the limited area we were able to survey, " However, it must be said that Mr. Green tackled that part of the Selkirks which he explored from the very hardest and most un- promising point of attack." I regret that my meeting with Mr. Baillie-Groman on the Columbia lake did not take place before my work was finished; however my object was more to throw light on the mountain fastnesses in proximity to the railway than to attempt a general survey of the range. ; PREFACE. xi Of the illustrations, three, viz., the Frontispiece, the Snow Sheds, and the demolished Forest, are froni photographs by my companion, the Rev. H. Swanzy. The others are from my own sketches. In conclusion, I must take this opportunity to thank Sir W. C. Van Home, and his Secretary, Mr. A. Piers, for their kind help when we were in Canada ; Major Deville and Professor Macoun, of Ottawa, for their practical advice ; Professor Bonney, since our return, for examining the rock specimens I brought home the Council of the Royal Geographical Society for their material aid, and many others, too numerous to mention here, who " lent us a hand " when it Avas most needed. W. S. G. Carrigaline, Christmaa, 18S9. — CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. TAC.F. Introductory. —T]ie idea suggested. —My companion. — Prepara- tions 1 CHAPTER II. The City of Rome. —New York. —The Hudson. —Lake George. Ottawa CHAPTER III. — The Backwoods. "Winnipeg. —The Prairie. —ilementoes of the buffalo. — Prairie Indians.— Calgary. — First view of the Rockies 23 CHAPTER IV. Descriptive. —Geology. —Forests. — Animals. —Early explorers . 37 CHAPTER Y. Leave Calgary. —Ascend the Rockies. —Steep descent. —Cross the Columbia. —In the Selkirks. The trestle-bridges and snow- sheds. —The great Illecellewaet glacier . 53 xiv CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. PAOK Oiir map. —First climbs. —Packing. —View from arete of Mount Sir Donald 71 CHAPTER VII. The railway gangs. —The pack-horse again. —Sledging. —The valley beyond the snow-field. — Camped on Perley Rock . 91 CHAPTER VIII. We start for Vancouver. — The gorge of the Frazer. —The salmon canneries. —Back to the Mountains Ill CHAPTER IX. Pioneering the Asulkan pass. —Rocky Mountain goats.—Tiie Dawson range. —Reconnaisance of the Loop Valley .... 123 CHAPTER X. Start for camp in Loop Valley. —The Glaciers of j\Iount Bonney. Ascend the Lily glacier 132 CHAPTER XI. An early start. —A steep couloir. —A viauvais pas. —The summit of Mount Bonney.—Sunset. —Benighted in the forest . 148 CHAPTER XII. Fetch camp from Loop Valley. —A Breakfost party. — Illecelle- waet. —A miner's camp 164 CHAPTER XIII. Start with horse for Beaver Creek. —Camp on the Tote Road.— Ford Bear Creek. —Impenetrable forest 175 —A CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIV. PAGE Excursion up Mount Macdonald. — Recross Bear Creek. —DiflB- culties of the Tote Road 190 CHAPTER XV. Start for Asulkan Pass. —Roast Pork. —Mountain goats. — narrow bivouac. —Reach the Geikie and Dawson glaciers. Thunder and lightning. —A morning visitor 201 CHAPTER XVI. Last ascent in Selkirks. —Golden City. —Up the Columbia. Lake Windermere. —Across the Rockies 218 CHAPTER XVII. Silver City. —Astray in the forest. —Lake Louise. —Moimt Lefroy. —Swamped in the Bow river. —Once more on the prairie 2-35 LIST OF ILLUSTUATIOXS. "The swelling slopes of forest, the blue ice of the glaciers, and the dark purple precipices of Mount Bonney Frontispiece. " Xew views of strange castellated crags opened as I progressed" To face page 38 " A series of snow-sheds" ,, ,, 60 " The forest we found utterly demolished by a recent avalanche" ,, ,, 63 " " At last the highest crest was in sight ,, ,, 156 " H. hauled cautiously but firmly on the rope " . ,, ,, 160 " " Taking the rifle he descended to the snow-slope . ,, ,, 206 " A full-si2ed mountain goat inspecting us " Page 214 " A little wharf called ' Sam's Landing ' " To face page 2Z2 "At the head of the lake, the great precipice of Mount Lefroy" ,, ,, 244 MAP. Part of the Selkirk Range, British Colvmbia . At cm of Book. AMONG THE SELKIKK GLACIERS. CHAPTER I. " The food of hope Is meditated action ; robbed of this Her sole support, she languishes and dies. We perish also ; for we live by hope And by desire ; we see by the glad light And breathe the sweet air of futurity ; And so we live, or else we haA'e no life." AVORD.SWOKTH. Introductory. —The idea suggested. —My companion. —Preparations. When the British Association met in Canada in 1884, one of the most interesting excursions planned for the members was that provided by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company on the portion of their line then completed ; to the summit of the Hector pass, or as it was then called, the Kicking Horse pass, in tlie Rocky Mountains, Amongst the members of that ex- cursion were two gentlemen, Mr. Richard M. Bamngton, and my cousin, the Rev. Henry Swanzy, who, not satisfied with the interesting scenes revealed to them H 1 2 AMONG THE SELKIRK GLACIERS. [chap. by the completed portion of the railway, determined to continue the journey to the shores of the Pacific, with the aid of pack-horses. After separating from the excursion party on Hector pass, they experienced very considerable diffi- culties. The temporary track for construction trains was available only as far as the Ottertail bridge on the western slope of the Rockies. From this point they had to depend entirely on their horses. Having been ferried across the Columbia river, they followed a most imperfect trail, up the valley of Beaver Creek, into the Selkirks and so reached Rogers pass. Often missing the trail, they were compelled to make the best of their Avay along the precipitous mountain side, through tangled forest, until descending by the side of the Illecellewaet river they rejoined the Columbia in the more westerly portion of its course. They ferried once more across its waters and on its further shore met the trail in the Gold Mountains, which they followed to the shores of the Shushwap lake. Here taking the steamer to Kam- loops, they finally reached the railway at Spence's bridge in the valley of the Thompson, and so completed their journey to the Pacific. The pedestrian portion of their journey was about 170 miles, and as there was always an uncertainty as to what difficulties might lie ahead, they wasted no time en route ; but even so, owing to the imperfection of the trail, it took them seventeen days from the time I.] THE IDEA SUGGESTED. 3 they left the railway at Hector pass to reach the steamer on the Shushwap lake. Of the three pack-horses, two only survived the journey. The other poor beast, after numerous falls, became so disabled that it had to be abandoned seven days before the lake was reached. Their return journey was made across the continent by the Northern Pjicific Railway, and soon after their arrival at home, H., my cousin, related to me a full account of their adventures ; his description of the great beauty of the mountain scenery of the Selkirk range awakened my interest and caused visionary desires to rise in my mind that some day or other, I too might have a chance of seeing those vast jiine forests, with their grand background of glacier-clad peaks.